Hating Seattle
by Nala
Summary: A new attending comes to Seattle Grace, with a temper promising to ruin every good mood. MarkOC, AddisonAlex, my first GA story, I hope you like it, T just to be sure. Chapter 4 up now!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Hating Seattle**

**Author: Nala**

**Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy and its characters aren't mine…no money made of this. Ruthie's mine though **

**Rating: K+ to T, I'm not sure, it might rise and I don't know the system too good so just to make sure…**

**Author's note: I haven't been writing stuff in a pretty long time and it's my first GA Fic. English isn't my first language so if there's anyone who could beta my stuff before I post it I'd be really happy, this chapter isn't betaed so if there are any weird words…blame it on my dictionary . I love reviews, they keep me writing and constructive criticism is always welcome.**

„Isn't it lovely? I'm sure it will make a wonderful home for you, Miss Sullivan. The last owners where so happy here, I'm sure you will be as happy as they were." The elderly lady smiled heart-warmingly and motioned for the young woman to get past the doorstep into the penthouse.

"Isn't it lovely?" she asked again, obviously waiting for an answer. The other woman rolled her eyes.

"Yeah - whatever. I don't really need this small talk stuff right now, ok?"

The woman looked at her dumbfounded. Not knowing what to say, she simply nodded sheepishly and exited the penthouse, pointing to the counter with the contract intimidated.

The young woman tossed her bag into a corner and went straight to the window, redoing her ponytail in the process.

"God, Richard. This job is better paid as good as you promised." She muttered.

She already hated Seattle. But then, she was Ruthie Sullivan. She was known for hating things, places, and people. And she was known for letting them feel it. Sighing she stared out of the window and watched as the Seattle rain poured down. She shivered although her landlady had thoughtfully set the heating up before showing Ruthie the new apartment. She was always cold. Why was she always cold? Cursing the young woman opened one of the seven suitcases the pitiable taxi driver had managed to get up the stairs and pulled out a grey sweater, instantly feeling warmer.

This would be a job like all the others. She would start working, impress with her skills of saving lives, would soon manage to alienate everyone at the hospital and a little later would be politely asked to leave, as it was rather manageable to lose one excellent surgeon than several. And it wouldn't take long until the next hospital, thinking they could deal with her temper, would come up with a ridiculously high offer.

It was a pity that this was happening at the hospital Richard Webber was pretty much running, though. He had always been a friend of what she had once considered a family. Dismissing the thought, she took a look at her watch. It was 3 a.m. and she once again made the mental note that she didn't need friends. She didn't need old friends, she didn't need new ones. She was her own best friend. If there was one thing Ruthie Sullivan had learned in the last fourteen years of her life it was that relying on others got her into nothing but trouble.

She decided it was too late to go to sleep, she would have to head for the hospital soon, starting yet another job that was not going to last. Reaching into her bag she fished out a granola bar and unwrapped it. She took a bite and tossed the rest on the counter. This was the first thing she had eaten since she had left Florida, which had been one and a half days ago. She knew she wasn't eating probably but she had other things to worry about.

_Seattle Grace, the next morning, 6.30 a.m._

"Ruthie! It's good to see you!"

Richard Webber suppressed a yawn. It was still early in the morning but he had a surgery to be performed at eight and he had insisted on meeting his new attending before that.

"Is it?" she didn't make an effort to brush the bitterness from her voice. Richard sighed. Ruthie Sullivan was one of the best, one of the youngest and one of the most difficult to handle surgeons he knew. It had been no easy decision to ask her to join the hospital's staff but Richard knew that her abilities were needed. As much as it surprised most people who first heard about it, she specialised in surgery on children and was, no matter her young age of 28 years, one of the most respected and, as it was only called behind closed doors, highest traded on her speciality.

"Of course it is. Well, your first shift as an attending surgeon in our hospital will begin in thirty minutes. Are you excited? No, I'm sure you aren't. Well….Dr. Bailey, one of our residents, will most likely assign one of her interns to accompany you." he could almost sense the answer coming.

"Oh yeah, great. It's this teaching hospital thing, right? So not looking forward to this."

He watched her tuck a stray of her straight blond hair that had managed to escape the neat bun she had put the rest into behind her ear and roll her eyes. She was wearing a black blouse and a fitting black skirt that stopped just above her knees. He had known her since she was a kid and he seriously asked himself when she had become like this. She literally seemed to be made of sarcasm, mean statements, a glare that could probably kill and a lot of ice.

Knowing it was a bad idea but deciding to ask nevertheless he did one last attempt to start a conversation with her.

"So, how are your parents doing?"

"Who cares?"

Richard watched worriedly as she took her purse from the table, grabbed the lab coat he had just handed her and left his office without another word. He sat down at his desk and put his head in his hands. He hadn't expected the little euphoric girl to bounce into his office but frankly, he also hadn't expected to see her like this – she didn't seem well. This new addition to his staff was likely to create more problems than he could need. Sighing, he got up and put on his own lab coat. Perhaps the surgery would take his mind off the problem at hand.

_Parking site, 7.00 a.m._

"Hurry, we're going to be late!" Izzie dragged Meredith across the parking space, followed by Alex who had just smashed the doors of their car shut. They practically ran into Addison and Mark who had just arrived as well.

"Late for rounds? Smells like trouble." Mark smirked, earning a smash against the chest from Addison. They followed the interns inside. Mark noticed the glance Addison was shooting Alex Karev but he decided to keep his mouth shut for once. Perhaps it would be for the better or perhaps he could just…

"Looking for a boy toy?" Damn it. Why did he have to say it? Couldn't he at least sometimes muster the strengths to just think things without actually saying them? He mentally smacked himself and then hurried to keep up with Addison who had rushed past him after saying something that sounded a lot like "Right person to say that kind of stuff." and also had some words in it that he clearly could recognise as "Manwhore!".

"I'm sorry. Addie, I'm sorry, come on. I really am."

She just waved his apology away and waited at the nurse's station where Preston and Derek were already waiting. They had just exchanged their hellos when Miranda Bailey marched in, followed by the five interns.

"You were already late so help me if I hear anyone of you complaining, you do as told and you get out of my sight before I forget myself, is that clear?"

The interns nodded, Meredith and George seemed quite scared, while Alex and Christina seemed to take the whole speech rather unperturbed and Izzie didn't really seem to have listened. Bailey got all of their attention though as she assigned them to their tasks for the day.

"Stevens, you're with Dr. Sheperd. Karev, NICU. Yang, you're with Dr. Burke. O'Malley, have fun at plastics and Grey – you're with Dr. Sullivan."

The interns looked at each other quizzically but before Meredith could ask a cool voice from behind them said:

"That would be me."

They turned around and stared at the new attending. But it wasn't only the interns who were obviously surprised by her.

"God, please say I'm hallucinating." They suddenly heard Alex's voice.

"Yeah, you wish Karev." the blonde woman snapped.

"You know each other? Great! Now get to work!" Bailey snapped at the interns who quickly teamed up with their attendings. Without even saying one word to Meredith, Ruthie started off into the direction of the elevator, only to stop next to Mark.

"Ok, here are to glorious hints. Number one: Stop staring. Number two: Stop drooling." With that she was off, leaving Meredith no choice but to follow her. Mark, despite her icy comment, couldn't get his eyes off her until the elevator's doors had closed. He was practically overwhelmed and that meant a lot being admitted by Mark Sloan. The woman who had just effectively stultified him in front of his co-workers and subordinates was indirectly still doing so by leaving him speechless.

He barely heard Addison chuckle and Derek leave a remark while they left. All he could think about was how well the lab coat had hugged her shoulders, how her skirt had revealed just the right amount of leg and how her blouse had made no effort to leave her figure to anyone's imagination. It wasn't that he had never seen a beautiful woman before – but her blunt insult and coolness intrigued him. She wasn't like any other woman he had met before – she was a task.

"Erm…Dr. Sloan?" George shifted uncomfortably next to him, wishing his boss would just take that new attendings advice and stop staring at the spot she had left minutes ago.

**Ok so this was the first chapter. I'll be on holidays soon but I'll try to finish the 2nd chapter before that. Please R&R, I'd like to know what you think. And don't hate Ruthie…..maybe she'll turn out to be nicer than she seems?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Not mine, Shonda's**

Great. This was just great. Alex Karev stormed through the halls in front of Addison, leaving her no choice but to try and keep up with him, which proofed rather difficult in her stilettos. He was so deep in his thoughts that he jumped when he realised she had to smash her hand in between the doors of the elevator to stop it from ascending without her.

"What the hell….? Couldn't you slow down a bit?"

Alex saw that she was irritated. He didn't want her to be. Despite of what he had told her in the supply closet he was definitely interested in her, the last thing he wanted her to be was angry at him. The doors of the elevator closed and he allowed himself to lean back against its walls. Addison came closer, the anger still evident on her face. His heart skipped a beat as she seemed to search his face for an explanation and, not getting one, asked:

"Care to explain?"

He forced himself to concentrate. What had she just said? He saw the disappointed look on her face as she realized he had not listened.

"Sorry…." He muttered. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. Our new attending just is a person that I like to be as far away from as possible."

He was surprised to see the look on her face was rather one of relief than anything else. Since he had had the fabulous idea to reject her, she had kept their relationship strictly professional, rarely speaking to him if it wasn't about something that was work-related. He was beginning to think that he had finally managed to make the one mistake that would ruin the biggest chance he ever got for something really good, when she hit the emergency button. He was so deep in his thoughts that the stop came unexpected and he, failing to gain his balance, fell against her and dragged her down to the floor with him.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, Addison are you alright?"

The use of her first name obviously didn't go by unnoticed because she questioningly raised an eyebrow and asked:

"So, we're back to Addison again?"

He searched for something intelligent to say but failed miserably and instead just stared at her for a few moments, trying to hold on to what little dignity he still had managed to keep in this situation. She held her hands up as in defence and pressed the emergency button again. She had originally tried to get him into talking but the whole situation had definitely turned out different than she had wanted it to. Not that she minded his body pressed against hers….she quickly dismissed the thought, her attention drawn to something else.

"Why aren't we moving?"

Alex followed her gaze. Addison had by now started to impatiently push the button again and again without any effect. The lift wasn't moving.

"Great! Just great! Why did you have to press that damn thing in the first place?" he snapped and immediately regretted it as he saw her placing her hands on her hips and facing him with a look of sheer irritation.

"Well perhaps, Mister shun-me-out, I pressed that damn thing because something is obviously troubling you, you're my intern, I need you to work with your mind on preemies and c-sections and not on some hot-shot new attending." Had she actually just said that? Addison turned around and tried to hide the shock at her own outburst. Stupid, stupid, so very, very stupid. Alex smirked.

"You're jealous." He grinned and took a step closer to her.

"I am not. Believe me, Karev, I am not."

He didn't know why it sent a shiver down his spine to know that she obviously still did care about him. He also didn't know why it suddenly seemed to be so much warmer inside the elevator as he stopped his approach only inches from her body.

"Good." He said in a low voice, stepping even closer. "'Cause you don't have to be."

He smirked again and took a step back, realizing that her breathing had quickened. Addison nervously tucked a stray of hair behind her ears as she realized he had once again taken her by surprise. She was embarrassed to see how little self control she had in his presence. The last days trying to avoid him, keeping their relationship a completely professional one, had been harder than she would ever have imagined, but she had managed. She had been sure she could do it. And now? All it took him was stepping close to her and she forgot everything around her, she forgot the fact that she wanted to talk to him, she forgot that he was her intern, she even forgot about the pact she had done with Mark and frankly – even if she wouldn't forget about it, with Karev's lips lingering only inches from her own she didn't really care about the pact anymore. She could feel his breath on her lips and felt her eyes fluttering shut when her mind took over her body and she pulled away hastily. This was her intern. True - her gorgeous, caring, sexy intern but still, her intern.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, nervously standing up and bringing some distance between the two of them. Addison could see the frustration being openly displayed on Alex's face and felt the sudden urge to go back to where she had just been but she took a deep breath and let professionalism take over. This was her intern – the intern who had not long ago declared that he was not interested in her anyway.

"So….you and Dr. Sullivan?" she tried to change the subject.

"Long story." was the only thing Alex mumbled. He didn't get this woman. And if he hadn't already been having enough problems Ruthie had to appear. Ruthie, who made himself want to hide in an empty supply closet until she got fired, which would hopefully be soon. Ruthie, who made him think of the snappiest and meanest remarks he could come up with. Ruthie, who made him feel like an asshole. Ruthie, who made him feel so incredibly guilty that it hurt.

Meredith Grey slammed her tray on the table and fell into the chair next to Izzie. Christina and George looked up with a surprised look in their eyes.

"I swear, this is the crappiest shift I've ever been on." she moaned, starting to stuff some salad into her mouth.

"Is it?"

Meredith jumped when she heard Bailey's voice from behind her.

"Dr. Bailey, I didn't mean to…." Meredith started to stammer, not knowing how to go on, but Miranda didn't seem to be upset. To be honest, she rather seemed to be curious.

"No, no, no, go ahead Grey. I'd like to know how the new attending is treating my interns. So, what's been so crappy about this shift? And please – don't cut around the crap."

Meredith nervously looked at Izzie and George before turning to Dr. Bailey again.

"Well, part of the crappy thing was that I spent most of the shift up to now in front of patients' rooms instead of inside them. I mean, I really don't want to question her methods but we get into a room, I present the case, she asks me to leave, comes out ten minutes later, tells me to fill her in if there's any change and when I go in to check on the patients she's definitely done something but I don't know what because she doesn't let me watch. With all due respect, I don't really learn anything from that. And seriously, how can you leave HER alone with an innocent child?"

Meredith took a deep breath after her rant. She didn't know if she had gone too far but at the moment she didn't care.

"Not good. Oh, speaking of the devil."

The interns turned upon hearing Miranda's words and saw the slim form of the new attending approaching. She was carrying a can of coke and a chart and was obviously just on her way through the cafeteria.

"Man, does the woman ever eat?" whispered George but before Izzie could answer, Dr. Bailey had gripped her colleagues elbow.

"Dr. Sullivan, a word. What do you think the interns are doing here?" she asked. Ruthie lifted an eyebrow, pushed a stray of hair behind her ear and seemed to think hard while staring at the four unlucky objects of attention.

"Well, I'd say, though I'm not sure so please correct me if I'm wrong….but I'd say they're wasting their time having lunch."

Miranda, who had at first thought she was actually going to get an answer, fumed.

"You are wrong. This, Dr. Sullivan, is a teaching hospital. Although I assumed you were a surgical intern once, you obviously seem to have forgotten what that implies. I'm having a good day, I'm going to fill you in on this one: It implies showing the interns, what you do. It does not imply locking them out of patients' rooms and leaving them to themselves afterwards. I swear to you, if I hear another one of these stories, I will make sure that the Chief kicks your sorry little butt."

Silence hung around the place. The interns looked at each other uncomfortably. Suddenly Ruthie turned back to Miranda.

"I'm sorry, did you say something important? Because frankly, I stopped listening pretty soon. Oh, and Dr. Grey – we are going to have so much more fun for the rest of this shift. I'll see you in fifteen minutes."

With that she was off, leaving a speechless Dr. Bailey and four equally speechless interns behind. The only sound to be heard was the sound of Meredith repeatedly banging her head on the table.

Mark Sloan had left his table after having witnessed the scene in the cafeteria. This woman had just rendered Bailey speechless. Quickly catching up with her he leaned against the nurse's desk where she had stopped to organise her charts.

"Congratulations. You just got yourself into big trouble." he smirked.

"I doubt that." came the short reply.

"I was wondering, although I am already pretty sure I know the answer, if you would like to go out with me tonight?" his self-assured grin faded when he saw her start laughing.

"What makes you think I would agree to that, like – ever?"

**Ok, this was chapter 2, I hope you liked it. I originally intended to write more about Ruthie in here, but the Addex part took a bit longer to write and as I'm off to holiday in an hour I'll leave that one for the next chapter.**

**As always, I'd be happy to receive your reviews to know if you like it so far.**

**-Nala**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Still not mine…Shonda's**

**Rating: T but just to be sure…I don't actually think it IS T…**

„It's not going to resume going if you are pacing the whole time."

Alex looked down at Addison, who had decided to slide down the elevators walls and sighed, sitting down next to her. He saw her swallow and smirked. After Addison hitting the emergency button a hundred times, someone had finally answered. Alex was relieved there weren't any emergency surgeries planned for the next hours, as they had been told to settle down for a while – something seemed to be seriously wrong with the elevator and it could take some time to fix it.

"See? This is what you get when you try to force other people into talking." he growled. Addison glanced at him sideways. Being locked in an elevator with Alex Karev certainly didn't do any good in trying to distract her mind from him. From his lips, his muscular body – she mentally slapped herself and tried to think about something else. Anything else. He was sitting really close. She had to get him into talking about something that had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they were locked in here.

"So, Karev. Time to tell me the story of your life?"

Alex sighed.

"You won't let go off this Ruthie thing?" he asked. She laughed and shook her head no.

"Ok fine. I'm only telling you this because we are locked in here….." so much for her great plan "and because I trust you to keep it to yourself."

He looked at her with a serious look on her face. He leaned back against the wall, unconsciously sliding closer to her and taking a deep breath. Addison tried to think of something else than the fact that it got so comfortably warm with his body so close to hers when he started to talk.

"I met Ruthie Sullivan when I was eight and she was ten and we were locked in the same locker at our school by the same group of bullies."

"_Have fun, Karev. And hope someone'__s going to find you in there. Because if not – happy starving."_

_Alex banged his fists against the walls of the small locker he had been pushed into but its doors were locked. There was no way he was going to get out here without someone helping from the outside. He shifted uncomfortably. He had been put into lockers before and he could have sworn they had the same size as this one but it seemed to be extremely cramped in here. Looking around, he suddenly saw, what or better who took up all the space in the locker._

"_What are you doing in here?" he asked the girl who was standing opposite to him._

"_I'm waiting for someone to get me out." was the simple answer._

_Alex took a closer look at the girl. She was tiny, he expected her to be his age. He didn't like girls normally. They were all giggly and pink and sticking their heads together. This one wasn't giggly, though. Her blond hair fell over her shoulders and she was wearing a dark blue dress. She tried to get a glimpse at the hallway through the locker's blinds and sighed._

"_We are going to die in here." She complained. "I was planning to die alone, or at least not in the company of a whiny little boy."_

"_I'm not whiny and I'm not little. I bet I'm older than you." he defended himself, crossing his arms over his chest. She shrugged._

"_I'm Ruthie Sullivan and I'm ten. I hate dolls and I hate Geography so don't try to start a conversation about either one."_

_Alex started to pout. She was older than him. He was locked into a locker with a girl that was older than him. This was the total disgrace. At least he could hope that some of her friends would come and save them sooner or later. He wasn't planning on dying in this locker either._

"_So, when will your friends come and get us out of here?" he asked in a small voice._

"_My friends?" she grew quiet and shrugged. "I don't have many…." She trailed of. Her little fists had by now started to rhythmically bang against the locker's door in the hope to attract some attention. Alex watched her banging until she shook her hand in pain._

"_Perhaps I could be your friend and you could be mine. So next time one of us gets locked in, the other one can get him or her out." Alex offered. She eyed him suspiciously, and then nodded._

"_Ok." was all she said before starting to bang again. Alex grinned and joined her in attracting attention._

"_I'm Alex, by the way. And I'm eight. And I hate dolls as well."_

"Just to clear the picture. You're friends but you want her to leave?" Addison asked, slightly confused. She had expected everything from a brother-sister story to a first-love story but certainly not this. He nodded slowly. He ran his hand through his hair in an exasperated way before letting it fall down to his side. Before she knew what she was doing, Addison entwined her fingers with his. He looked at her quizzically and she suddenly felt she had done something terribly wrong. //He's not interested, Addison. Accept it. // she thought and wanted to pull away, but Alex held her hand close to him.

"I'm sorry." she began to stutter but he just smiled and scooted a little closer.

"So….do you want to go on telling the story?" she asked, trying to convey the fact that her breathing had quickened and trying to think of something else than how right her hand felt in his. Alex unconsciously began to gently rub his thumb across the back of her hand while thinking.

"I don't know. It's not really something I'm proud of."

He was afraid. Along the way of getting to know Addison Forbes Montgomery he had done too many things wrong already. The biggest mistake had definitely been to tell her he wasn't interested in her. How could he not have been? And even if he hadn't been interested in her before the kiss, which he was, now he would have been. The last thing he wanted to do was to tell her how he had lost his best friend ever and how much it was his own fault. It wasn't because he didn't want to talk about it. To be honest, after Ruthie had moved away when he was fourteen he had tried his best not to think about her anymore. They had been the best friends for five years and the worst enemies for one year. He had tried to erase the fact that he had never had a better friend out of his mind but every time he thought he made friends he had felt that it wasn't the same. Still he had never really felt the need to tell someone about this.

Until now. Seeing Ruthie made him worried. He had only needed to look at her for a second to recognise her. The same blond, silky hair. The same blue eyes, the delicate hands and self-conscious composure. What made him worry were things that you saw when you looked longer than a second. The fact that she could have bought that blouse in the children's department. He knew that she had never cared about eating. Even as a child she had only eaten when she thought she had time. Her older brothers had constantly kept reminding her of eating something whenever they got hold of her and most of the times she obliged. The fact that there weren't any wrinkles people normally get from laughing at the corner of her eyes. He knew, if she knew that he had taken this in in such short time, she would have laughed at him. Well, 10 year old Ruthie would have. 14 year old Ruthie probably would have, too. 15 year old Ruthie would probably have thrown a glass of something hot into his lap and walked away.

"Alex? Are you okay?"

He had nearly forgotten that he was sitting in the elevator but Addison's hand on his shoulder quickly brought him back to reality.

"I'm good. I'm just worried. I mean, we were friends, after all."

He realised that he hadn't filled her in but he thought that not doing so would probably have the same effect of her thinking bad about him than telling her. And he needed to tell someone.

Alex sighed and looked at Addison who was by now sitting so close that their knees touched. He resumed to hold her hand in his and for a moment he wondered how they had come to sitting in an elevator like this when normally both of them tried to be as professional as possible. He absently let their entwined hands rest on his knee, took a deep breath and started again.

"I don't know. She had always been….fragile. If her parents wouldn't pick her up on time from school she would not talk to them the entire way home. If they went to one of her brothers' football games instead of helping her with her homework for once she would lock herself up in her room and cry until they got back. She always needed a lot of attention. It was different with me though, because I didn't really have anyone else to spend my time with anyway so she hardly ever was cross at me and we really had a great time. I totally knew I could count on her and vice versa. I could crash at her place when things got bad at home and she could tell me everything about how much she hated her oldest brother's fiancée. To be honest, I think that marriage thing did a whole great part to making her how she is now, too. I should have been there, I think."

Addison had by now passed the last bit of distance that had still been between them and their bodies touched. She didn't really know what she was doing or why, all she knew was that he sounded so sad and that it felt so nice to just lean against him and it was warm and comfortable even though they were sitting on the floor in a stuck elevator.

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

"I did the most stupid thing ever. When she was going to be fifteen I was thirteen and I was the one person in our class everybody picked on because my best friend was a girl and an older one at that. I didn't want to lose Ruthie, but I figured if perhaps I tried to get some more friends, I wouldn't still be put into lockers. So I did the stupidest thing I could do and tried to get into the band of those guys who got Ruthie and me together in the first place."

"_If you want to be one of us, there's one more thing you have to do." Thomas Riker said, grinning mischievously. He nodded into the direction of the lunch area, where Ruthie was standing, aside from the other girls and drinking some milk._

"_I heard she's in love with our Brady-Boy here." He slapped one of the boys on the shoulders. "You get along with her. We want proof."_

_Alex looked at him questioningly._

"_Why?"_

"_Why? Because! You want to be one of us? Do it!"_

_Alex shrugged and went over to sit next to Ruthie, who had by now taken a seat on one of the swings._

"_Hey, Roo!" Alex sat down next to her._

"_This Brady guy…." He started and saw her immediately blushing._

"_Just stop it. I know he's way too far up for me to have a chance." She muttered, taking another sip of her milk. She glared at some girls who passed them and giggled, pointing at her. "This is so unnerving. As if I got nothing better to do than shush those Barbies away."_

"_Yeah. I so can't stand them." Alex agreed._

"_Want some?" she held her glass out to him and he took it, taking a sip._

"_What's that taste? Did you put something in there?"_

"_Strawberries. Good, right?"_

_He nodded, contemplating what to do next. He didn't know what the boys possibly wanted to do with whatever proof he should get from Ruthie. Perhaps Brady was into her, too. They were about the same age, Ruthie's birthday was going to be tomorrow, she was going to be fifteen. He was the only one invited, next to her brothers (except her oldest brother whom she had pointedly uninvited after he had announced his engagement with his long-term girlfriend. Alex had gotten to know over time that Ruthie had an extreme disliking for the woman.). Somehow nobody seemed to want to be friends with Ruthie. She didn't seem to care, as she got him as his best friend but Alex wondered anyway. She was nice, except she got picked upon, she was pretty, although he never would have admitted that to her, she was smart and she was a lot of fun to be with. Perhaps it would be good, if she had a boyfriend. It really was the only possibility Alex could think of why they wanted some proof of her feelings. He remembered how Ruthie had told him she liked Brady, although he probably was involved in some of her days spent in locker rooms or deserted toilets. He knew she carried a photo of him around. That was it._

"_Hey, that photograph of him, you still got that?" _

_She blushed even more, nodded and pulled it out of her purse, handing it over to him. He knew it was the first time she was in love and although he personally thought girls were disgusting, exception Ruthie of course, he had been proud that she had filled him in. He took the photograph and nervously looked around._

"_I'll…..um…I'll be right back." He stuttered and stormed off, leaving her shaking her head confusedly. _

"_I can't believe it, hey, Brady look out, she's actually carrying a photo of you around." Thomas waved the picture in front of Ruthie's nose a few minutes later. Alex was standing nearby, a horrified expression on his face. He saw Ruthie stare at him but he didn't know what to say. on, Ruthie Sullivan is in love. Sweet, sweet love. Isn't that cute?"_

_The boys started to laugh, Brady laughing loudest of all of them. He approached Ruthie and laughed even louder._

"_Seriously Sullivan, what were you thinking? Before I'd let myself be seen with you Tommy here is going to grow some boobs."_

_The laughter got even louder, while tears began to roll down Ruthie's cheek. Alex thought it couldn't get worse and wanted to go over and comfort her when Thomas suddenly slapped him on the shoulder and said, loud enough for Ruthie to hear:_

"_Congratulations Alex, now you're officially one of us."_

Alex grew quiet. He stared at his hand, still entwined with Addison's. He would have understood if she had pulled away after this.

"I'm such an ass." He said quietly.

Addison looked at him for a second. He looked so vulnerable right now that all she wanted to do was to hug him or to kiss him. She contemplated this for a while. Looking at where they were right now it couldn't get much more inappropriate anyway. She gently grasped his chin and forced him to look at her.

"Hey. You were a kid. And you didn't know what would be the outcome."

He stared at her. At this moment there was nothing he wanted to do more than pull her into his lap and hold on to her.

"I know. It's just….I think with a friend at her side it would have been a lot easier to get through the rest of her life, which became pretty messed up some time afterwards. I mean, you've seen her. She's mean. She's cold. She's…..I don't know. Being like that needs some practice. She started to freaking practice with me. You know, at some point I was so angry at her that I started to fight back but I could always be sure that she would have something even meaner up her sleeve. I didn't want to hurt her. I just thought that at some point her revenge was taken and she could have stopped, but she didn't."

He suddenly realised that she probably knew exactly how he felt about this. He smiled at her while she slowly let her hands that had still been holding his chin, wander along the outlines of his jaw.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"For telling, I mean. Really Alex, this means a lot."

He was so close now. Addison wanted to say something else, something about what he just told her but as his face came closer and her eyes couldn't focus on anything but his lips anymore she realised she would have to do the talking later. She didn't know which one of them finally closed the gap between them, but the next thing she knew was that she felt his lips on her, gently kissing her. His hands found their way to her back and when she didn't pull away he pulled her into his lap, kissing her and holding on to her. After some time they drew away breathless, staring into each others eyes. Addison bit her bottom lip playfully and just wanted to lean in again as the elevator went back to life with a jolt. Frustrated she leaned her forehead against Alex's for a second, taking a deep breath before he pulled both of them up.

"What?" he asked, as he suddenly caught her grinning.

"Nothing….just….I thought you weren't interested." She managed before starting to quietly laugh. Alex just laughed but quickly stopped when the elevator stopped and Mark and George joined them.

"Let us inform you that this elevator was just stuck for what, three hours." Addison announced but the two men shrugged and went in anyway. Addison threw a curious glance at Mark.

"What are you so angry at?" she asked, seeing his unsatisfied expression. Mark didn't answer. George waited exactly four seconds before bursting out:

"He just got dumped by the new attending."

"Dude, that sucks." Alex couldn't keep from laughing and again had to stop when the elevator stopped at the next stop. He abruptly stopped though, as Meredith and Ruthie entered. The blond woman surveyed the room and then clapped her hands.

"Now, isn't this funny? All my favourite men and my favourite intern in the same elevator." She patted Meredith on the shoulder.

"Tell me, Karev, are all your friends as chitty-chatty with your residents?"

Alex looked at Meredith who threw him a helpless look.

"I…." he started but Ruthie started to wave her hands annoyed.

"Nuh…..so don't want to hear it. Rhetorical question. Remember that word."

It got silent in the elevator. Even Mark didn't say anything also Addison was pretty sure that he was curious how she and Alex had spent three hours in an elevator. She assumed he was trying to figure out another way to hit on the young woman opposite her when the elevator finally stopped at their floor. They went out and Mark just opened his mouth, his McSteamy smirk on his face, when suddenly Meredith and Ruthie's pagers both went off. Dr. Sullivan took one look at the device and was off in a hurry, leaving Meredith to hurry after her.

**Yeah, well….that was an awful lot of Addex in this one :) Although Addex isn't really awful. I just couldn't stop. I'm still trying to figure out how to go on with it, although I've already written one scene for a later chapter, so at least this has some direction.**

**If someone has the time to proofread my stuff before I actually post it that would be just great, as English isn't my first language.**

**So, the next chapter should be up soon, as I'm kind of in a creative mood at the moment, so I'd really appreciate it if you read this story if you could tell me what you think about it, so I get some motivation to go on. I love comments :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Alex groaned at the insistent beeping of his alarm clock. Unwillingly turning around he slapped the alarm clock. He just wanted to close his eyes again when they fell on the calendar next to the alarm clock. With a jolt he sat up, the quick motion surprising himself and consequently bringing him to the floor.

It had been a week. A week since the incident with the elevator. A week since the sweetest kiss he'd ever had. And a week since the chief had, just as Alex had wanted to talk to Addison about what exactly had just happened, sent the object of his every thought on a one-week conference to Los Angeles. And today – well today she was due back. Alex sprinted for the shower and made it just in time to hear Meredith banging at the door, after he had closed it behind him, a satisfied smirk on his face. The smirk quickly faded as he realised he had absolutely no idea what to tell her. He knew what he wanted to tell her, that he couldn't stop thinking about her, he never had, that she made him feel like no one else had before – but there were several possibilities as to how she might react to that.

Scenario A involved a lot of more kisses and her hands under his shirt.

Scenario B involved a clueless stare and an "**Elevator? **Karev, what are you talking about?".

Scenario C involved another one of her apologies and he prayed that this one wasn't about to

come true.

Ruthie Sullivan was in the shower when her alarm clock got off. Sighing she rinsed the last of the foam off and climbed out of the shower. Tying a towel around her wet form, she hurried into the bedroom to get rid of the annoying noise. She had always been awake way before her alarm got off and today was no difference. She stared out of the window for a few seconds.

One week. It had been raining for one week. She couldn't say that her work at the hospital was bad. She actually liked it. The only bad thing was that she was now practically forced to fill the interns in. After Bailey had talked to her, she obviously also had talked to the chief, who had set things straight with Ruthie. Although she wasn't exactly thrilled she let the interns look over her shoulder now and then. The reason she had not wanted them to be in the patients' rooms with her had been a fairly simple one. With patients, Ruthie could hardly display the same behaviour she graciously distributed among her colleagues and everyone who made the mistake of stepping into her way. Especially as her patients were seldom more than fifteen years old.

And there was this other thing, keeping her distracted. After realising after three days that his direct ways of asking her out only earned him humiliating comments Mark Sloan had changed his tactics. He didn't even talk to her anymore, which didn't mean he ignored her. Not at all. He somehow managed to lean next to her at the nurses' station every morning, greeting her with a soft "Hey!" and a smile that she was pretty sure was patented by him. He threw her that smile every time he passed her in the hallways, and every time he saw her hurrying through the cafeteria or whenever he even got a glimpse of her. And while it had annoyed her to hell at the beginning she now found it hard not to smile back, which surprised herself to a great degree. She didn't even remember the last time she smiled. She shivered and realised she was still dripping wet and freezing. Putting on her clothes she searched for her keys and quickly left for the hospital after realising her fridge was empty anyway.

"He will be ok, right? He will be fine after the surgery, won't he?"

Meredith hated moments like this. The young couple looked between her and Dr. Sullivan, now and then casting a fearful glance at their five year old son who was just being prepared for a major surgery. Billy was only five years old but had already had several tumours removed from his small body. His parents were here because Dr. Sullivan had treated their son back in Florida and they wanted to stay with the doctor they trusted. She had kept their son alive the last five years, against all odds.

"We will do all we can." She said, earning a raised eyebrow from Dr. Sullivan who was preparing the boy for surgery.

"You ready for this, Billy?" the young doctor asked the boy without commenting on Meredith's words. Billy nodded, smiling at the woman he already knew since he could think. Meredith saw that although she didn't smile, she seemed to calm the boy down who had been crying all morning. The attending was sitting on the boy's bed, showing him the part of his back where the tumour would have to be removed.

"Will I get an ice-cream after the surgery?" he asked hopefully and Ruthie nodded, earning a huge grin. The boy then started searching the small desk next to his bed and pulled out a self-drawn picture, handing it to the attending.

"This is me and Murphy. Murphy is my dog. He's _huge_. You wanna keep it?" he asked and smiled again, when Ruthie nodded. The young doctor gently pushed the boy back into the pillows.

"Dr. Grey, a word please." she said after Billy was prepared for the surgery and led Meredith out into the hallway.

"There is no need to stir the parents up by making them afraid of the outcome of the surgery." she snapped without a warning. Meredith jumped at the sudden tirade but collected herself quickly.

"With all due respect, but the kid is going to have a high risk surgery. The chances aren't too good for him. What was I supposed to say?" she defended herself.

"Listen, because I will only say this once. I have done hundreds of surgeries. None of them went wrong. I have done twelve surgeries on Billy. None of them went wrong. I neither intend nor expect this one to be the first. Understood?"

Meredith stared at the attending. That couldn't possibly be true. Every surgeon lost patients, it didn't matter how good they were. She tried to say something but couldn't find something to say and thus just nodded and went back to bring Billy into the OR for the surgery.

"Time of death: 16:23." Christina's voice startled Meredith out of her apathy. She and Christina had been allowed to scrub in on the surgery on Billy Mitchell. Both had been impressed by the smooth way the surgery went, Dr. Sullivan had removed the tumour without any problems, although it had been situated on a risky part of the boy's body. They had just been about to do the stitches, when suddenly Billy's vitals had gone down without any warning.

Ruthie stared at the body of the young boy and tried to form a coherent thought. She did not want to appear vulnerable in front of those interns but at the moment all she could think about was how she could make it to the bathroom in time when her legs refused to move. She felt a lump form in her throat and tried to take a deep breath, failing miserably. She needed to get out of the OR. Turning on her heels she took off her gloves and robe in record time and hurried past Christina and Meredith without a word.

She didn't remember if she passed someone on her way to the bathroom but as soon as she had closed the doors behind herself her knees gave up and she sank down the cool walls. This was not supposed to happen. There weren't supposed to be any complications. Billy was dead and it was her fault. For the first time since she entered medical school Ruthie Sullivan had to face the fact that people died under her care. She felt a wave of nausea wash over her and brought her hands to her eyes, trying to breathe evenly. She was a doctor; she was supposed to know that people died, even though she did her best.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Without moving her hand from her eyes Ruthie knew that it was the self-convinced plastic surgeon.

"This is the ladies bathroom. You might want to go?" she snapped, but even to herself it sounded tired and unconvincing.

"Nah…I'd rather stay."

She felt him slipping down next to her and she didn't know if it was time to feel good or bad. She wanted to snap, to tell him off but a part of her was just glad that he was sitting next to her. She sighed and put her head on her knees. It was too late now anyway. It was obvious that she was upset and honestly, she could have found a better place to break down if she didn't want anyone to find out. She felt his hand on her shoulder, sliding down to gently rub her back and if possible, she suddenly felt even more tired. She wanted to lean into him but refrained. She was Ruthie Sullivan, cold-hearted bitch and she didn't need friends or….or more. Whatever. She didn't need any. Still she couldn't bring herself to push his hand away.

Mark stared silently at the woman next to him. Her body was slightly shaking while she tried to calm down her ragged breaths. She wasn't crying, but as he looked at how spent she seemed to be, he realized that this probably took up a lot of her strength.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Author's note: First of all thanks a lot to Lauren for betaing another chapter of this :)

I've tried to mix this one a bit, I hope you like it. Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks :)

Disclaimer: Still Shonda's

Addison slumped down on a chair at Joe's, motioning for the bartender to give her a martini. She sighed and downed it, making a face as the liquid burned its way down her throat. She had been looking forward to returning to Seattle all week. The moment in the elevator with Alex had been on her mind, making it hard to concentrate on why she was on the conference in the first place. Addison knew she had to talk to Alex about what had happened. She knew she had liked it – but what if Alex thought differently. What if that kiss had just been another one of his "You're my boss" moments. She sighed and stared into her empty glass. It was no use getting drunk tonight. It also was no use to avoid Alex when she knew she had to clear things out between them.

She jumped when someone sat down next to her. She hadn't heard her new colleague approach and was silently wondering how she had managed to be so quiet. While avoiding Alex, Addison had had the chance to catch on on the newest hospital gossip, one of the favorite stories of the day being the one where the new doctor lost her first patient ever. Addison cast a sideway glance at Ruthie, remembering the story Alex had told her about the slender woman. Her usually put-together form was wavering and considering the drink she ordered and drowned without so much as blinking, Addison assumed it had been a rather bad day.

"Not the best day?" she asked, although she didn't really expect an answer. She had only briefly met Dr. Sullivan on her first day, before she had been sent to the conference but from what the Seattle Grace rumour mill supplied, she wasn't exactly the talker.

"Not really." was the surprisingly quiet answer, followed by another shot of some unidentifiable liquid.

Addison didn't really like the silence that hung around them, especially as the shots seemed to be coming from an endless bottle of red liquid. She shot Joe a warning look and tried to come up with some topic for a conversation. Unfortunately, the only topic they probably both could talk about was a certain intern that didn't leave her head.

"So, I've heard you've been friends with Alex Karev?"

Ruthie raised an eyebrow, drowning another shot.

"So, I've heard you've been locked in an elevator with Alex Karev and had a nice time?"

It was Addison's turn to raise her eyebrow but she figured that the conversation wouldn't go very far if they just kept shooting remarks.

"Yeah, kind of locked in an elevator. I see the rumour mill is working again." She answered, trying to neglect the nice time comment.

"About that – " Ruthie started, turning around to face Addison and instantly grabbing the edge of the bar. She mentally cursed herself. She knew she couldn't hold her liquor which was why she rarely drank any alcohol. She was already starting to feel light-headed and the fact that she actually was about to deepen a conversation with someone she barely knew was a clear sign that she should stop drinking. Although, the steady beating of Billy's heart should have been a clear sign for him surviving – which it hadn't been. Shrugging to herself, she motioned to Joe for another drink and continued her sentence.

"This hospital is reminding me strangely of my days in high school. Is there anything that does not get discussed over by every single member of staff?"

Addison had to laugh and nodded, drinking her freshly ordered tonic water.

"It's terrible, I know. You have to be careful what to do and say in front of the nurses, especially. Although some of the interns also seem to take interest in fueling the rumour mill."

This was met by a nod. Apparently, after only a week at Seattle Grace, she had already experienced the dreaded rumor mill.

"So, Karev, huh? Bad decision." Ruthie came back to the original start of the conversation. Mentally banging her head on the counter, she aimed to make a disgusted motion, and instantly regretted it. Her day obviously was full of bad decisions. She wanted to say more when the doors to the bar opened, revealing two men.

"Oh... great, just great. This is JUST what I need now." she muttered and Addison turned around as well, spotting Alex and Mark at the entrance of the bar. Judging from the looks the two men were shooting each other they had not been coming here together, but spotting the two women at the bar, they both made their way towards them.

Alex swallowed when he saw who Addison was sitting with. He had been looking forward to talking to Addison all day and now the opportunity was there but the fact that Ruthie was sitting there as well was kind of intimidating. The two seemed to have been in a conversation and Alex could only imagine what stories Ruthie had come up with.

"Don't worry Karev, I've been a good girl." she said, patting his cheek. Alex raised an eyebrow. She hadn't spoken to him all week.

"Are you drunk, Ruthie?" he asked carefully and didn't fail to recognize the concerned look on Mark's face. Addison seemed to have witnessed that as well, as she looked questioningly at the plastic surgeon.

"Are you a jackass, Karev? See, both questions are answered so easily, it's almost ridiculous to ask them." she snapped back.

"Ok…." Mark stepped in and gently took the young woman by the arm, guiding her to a corner nearby and sitting her down on the chair. "Why don't I buy you a …water?"

Alex took the now free stool next to Addison and looked at her carefully.

"I've been looking for you all day." he said quietly.

"Err…yeah. I know. Kind of. Well." Addison tried to avoid his eyes. Why the hell did he reduce her to one-word sentences? She knew why…it probably was because his lips felt so right against hers and because his hands around her waist sent shivers up her spine but still – she was his boss. She wasn't supposed to think continuing whatever she had with Alex Karev was a good idea.

She sighed and looked at him. He looked confused but also slightly irritated.

"Addison. I don't get you, really I don't. You kiss me in here. We have these hours in the elevator where I mentally cursed the damn thing to work again so quickly. There was something there and now all I get is you avoiding me?"

"Alex, I'm sorry. I just – I didn't know what to do, so I thought prolonging the moment would be a fabulous idea and yes, obviously I was wrong. Alex looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Look, I know you are my boss and everything and you own my ass but really – there is something going on between us. I have no idea what it is and to be honest, I don't know if it would be a better idea to be scared and run but really, Addie, that's not what I want to do right now."

Addison had to smile as she heard him unconsciously use her nickname for the first time. He seemed sincere, which was rare. Addison had an idea of what he was talking about.

"I'm…Alex, I don't know. I like what we have, really, I do. But….I really don't know if it's a good idea to keep it up."

She avoided his gaze once more. Why did she say that? It totally contradicted everything she felt. She felt herself leaning forward and taking his hand, squeezing it gently as their lips touched once again. He responded at once, drawing her closer to him. She felt his warm body against hers and the last thing she wanted to do was pull away, but the need for air took over at some point and they separated. Alex smirked and tucked a stray of red hair behind her ears.

"Dude, you are being kind of confusing right now."

"Ok, Alex. What are we supposed to do now?" she asked, still standing close to him, absently playing with his sleeve.

"I'd say we try it out. Let's just see what this is, between us, Addie. Let's try it out. If it's good, if it's what we want, that's great and if it's not we'll see what to do then. But if you don't want to give it a try, I won't push you. Just think about it. Ok?"

Addison stared at him. Here Alex was again, being all sensitive. She knew he also had other sides, moments when he reminded her of a junior version of Mark but moments like now made her go weak in the knees.

"Ok…I'll think about it. I – I really need to go now. I'll see you tomorrow?" she retreated towards the door and couldn't help but smile at him, seeing his content face. She really needed a good night's sleep now.

"Ok, drink this." Mark firmly placed a glass in front of Ruthie, earning a bored look.

"That's water. That's no fun."

"You're going to spend the night in the bathroom without anymore drinks already, so drink the water and limit the damage." The fact that she didn't respond alarmed him as he had not gone one sentence without being snapped at the last week. He looked at her and saw her eyes becoming teary. Sighing, he slid closer to her and put a hand on her back.

"Are you okay?" he asked but was answered with a shake of the head. Ruthie pressed her palms into her eyes trying to keep the tears inside. She couldn't afford to break down. She tried to take a deep breath but only succeeded to release a sob. She felt Mark's hand rubbing her shoulder and wondered why she let him so close.

"I hate today." She muttered, trying to regain her composure.

"It's not been one of the best," Mark admitted. "let's go outside." He offered, seeing how her own breakdown stressed out Ruthie. She let him pay for her drinks and guide her out of the bar without really recognizing what he was doing. Outside, she slid down a nearby wall.

"I hate alcohol. I hate death. I hate rain. I hate…" she stopped, not being able to focus anymore as the tears she had held at bay inside the bar now flowed freely. Mark got down in front of her and tilted her head up, brushing the strays of hair that had managed to come loose out of her face.

"And I….and I hate, I hate crying. God, I swear if you tell anyone…" another sob prevented her from going on. Mark patiently took her hands in his and pulled her up. He pulled her close to him and gently stroked her hair.

"It's okay. I'm not going to tell anyone. But it's okay, Ruthie. You've had a really bad day. It's okay to have problems, and it's okay dealing with something like that." She didn't answer but she relaxed a little and he guided her to his car, his left arm securely around her as he opened the car and made her sit down. He didn't know why he was doing this. He had never been one to be able to deal with a crying woman. He usually got nervous and tried everything to cut them loose before he had to actually deal with whatever was wrong. But this time, he didn't even want to leave her alone. He was confused with himself. In the beginning, Ruthie Sullivan had been a target he had set, like many other women before. But in the last few days, he had been feeling different towards her. His tactics hadn't been successful, but he had become determined to go on and after a few days. He had honestly not even been thinking about having sex with her as the first priority. He had begun to think about things like going to dinner, holding her hand or just cuddling. He briefly asked himself if he was undergoing some kind of persona transformation as he turned the ignition, but dismissed the thought and focused on the road, now and then casting a glance at the woman next to him, who had fallen silent.

It didn't take long to get to her apartment, and a short time later Mark found himself wandering around, looking out of the window. He jumped as he suddenly felt a presence next to him and looked at the form of Ruthie Sullivan. She handed him a glass of water and took a sip of her own.

"Is it possible to sober up on a 15 minute car ride?" she asked. Mark laughed and turned towards her.

"You tell me."

Ruthie took a deep breath.

"Look, Dr. Sloan, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. For all this embarrassing emotional stuff today at work and in the bar."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. And it's Mark."

She looked at him and sank down onto her couch, putting her head in her hands before looking up at him once more. He saw how vulnerable she looked and honestly asked himself how she was able to keep up her façade all day at work.

"It's just that I'm not used to this. I can't be this person. This crying-her-heart-out and confiding-in-strangers person. I can't."

Mark sat down next to her.

"Ok. Then why don't we just say, after today, I'm certainly not a stranger anymore and you didn't exactly cry your heart out. You just had a little slip of control?" he smiled broadly and gently wiped away another tear that had threatened to fall.

He felt extremely relieved as he saw a small smile tuck at the edges of her lips.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Hating Seattle, Chapter 6

Author: blueberrykitty (or Nala at ff)

Rating: Let's settle for PG-13 for now

Disclaimer: It's all not mine…unfortunately

Summary: And again the Seattle Grace elevators play their tricks on Addie, Alex, Mark and Ruthie

Mark woke up in the morning, feeling better than he had in a long time. The sun was shining through the small gap between the curtains and – wait a second. Curtains? In his hotel room, Mark didn't draw the curtains, no matter the situation. He definitely was somewhere else. He wanted to get up to survey his surroundings better but decided against it. Wherever he was, he was warm, comfortable in a king size bed and he didn't intend to move if he didn't have to. His orientation would come back soon enough. He remembered last night. Finding Ruthie at the bar, getting her to talk to him despite the fact that she was sober. Driving her home. Making sure she was alright. He remembered sitting down on her bed as she had gone into the bathroom to change, determined to show him that she was alright.

It dawned on him when he looked down, seeing himself fully closed except for his shoes, that he must have fallen asleep on her bed and she had, for whatever reason, decided not to wake him up. He had to keep himself from jumping when he suddenly felt her arm drape around his stomach, still sleeping soundly she nuzzled her head against his shoulder and sighed contently. Mark had to smile to himself. He remembered the sniding remarks, the fighting over nothing from last night. He thought about how cold she always appeared, to everyone, totally inflicted by herself through her snapping, yelling, playing the ice-princess. Mark wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer as he thought about how broken she had been last night. He smiled when he looked at her sleeping form. Her silky blond hair framed her face, he was pretty sure it was the first time he saw her wearing it down. She was wearing a short pyjama which made him feel even warmer but he knew, if he really wanted to give this a try – all this stuff with the feelings – he would have to take his time. One thing he had learned in the last days: Ruthie Sullivan wasn't one to be rushed into anything.

Mark was slightly startled by his own behaviour towards her, even more so as he absently began to gently stroke her hair. He was interrupted in his thoughts, as he felt her stir in his arms, though.

"What….?"

He had to smile at her sleepy question, her eyes only slowly opening. As realization dawned upon her, he carefully tightened his grip on her.

"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" she seemed to have woken up quickly, now struggling to get out of his embrace.

"Let's just say you were to drunk to throw me out and I was too tired to bring up the will to do it on my own." Mark replied, laughing as she tried to push herself up on her hands but only succeeded in crashing down on his chest in the process.

Ruthie started to get really irritated. She was now lying on Mark Sloan's body, his hands firmly on her back, both of them shaking because he was laughing so hard. She hit him on the chest with her flat hand, being rewarded with a cough and a loosening of his hands on her body. She tried to take a chance and rolled to the side, not calculating in the fact that the bed was over where he had been lying and rather ungraciously landing on the floor. Mark laughed even louder, annoying her to no end. The alcohol-induced headache she had was only emphasised by her journey to the hard wooden floor and she groaned in pain as she got up and walked to the kitchen, holding her head and glaring at him.

"Get out of my apartment." She snapped.

"You know, you're really unkind." Mark sat up on the bed and started to pull his shoes on while smiling at her. "I saved you from a drunken coma last night, listened – not that I complain - , made sure you spend the night in bed instead of in the bathroom and you are throwing me out. Ruthie, really, I'm disappointed."

"Shut up and get out!"

Mark sighed and got up, heading for her door. In the last moment, though, he grinned, turned around, walked over to Ruthie, sitting on the kitchen counter, put his hands on both sides of her and kissed her, before she could respond. Ruthie was so surprised that she didn't even try to pull back but responded without really knowing what she was doing. As realisation dawned upon her once more, she pushed him away, staring at him. Mark just flashed her a smile and walked out of the apartment.

Ruthie was left sitting on the counter with her head swirling with a mixture of hangover, height and the kiss she had just received.

"Hold it, please!"

Grinning, Alex, held his hands in front of the elevator's doors and let Addison hurry in. She seemed startled, seeing who it was already in the elevator but offered him a shy smile and stood next to him, pressing the button for her floor.

"So…." Alex started.

"Yeah….."

"How's your day been?"

"Good. Good, it's been good. Really. Good."

Addison mentally smacked herself. Here she was again, not being able to form a coherent sentence in the presence of her intern. She blamed it on the lack of sleep she had had last night but then again, that was also to be blamed on Alex, so all in all her babbling along was his own fault. How could he expect a proper conversation when he rendered her sleepless?

"Did you do some thinking?" he asked. He really didn't want to push her but he had been up all night, trying not to think about how he would go on if she actually didn't want to try out a relationship with him.

"I….yeah. I did. A lot."

"And? Did you come to he carefully asked. He saw how Addison turned around a little to look t him and started tucking at his sleeve. He found himself smiling at her nervousness.

"Yeah…I guess…we could really take it slow?"

Alex was just about to respond when the elevator came to a halt on an earlier floor and in stepped Mark Sloan and Ruthie Sullivan, obviously in some awkward conversation themselves.

"This isn't up for discussion." Ruthie snapped upon entering.

"If you ask me, we don't have to talk all that much anyway." Mark said grinning.

"Shut up or take another elevator."

"God, you're bossy." He laughed and quickly let the doors close behind him.

"Addison, Karev, good evening." He said, still grinning at Ruthie, who looked extremely unnerved and not as composed as usual.

The elevator continued its ride. It was late already, the day had been hard for all of them. There had been a mass crash on the highway and the surgeons and their interns had spent most of the day in the OR, now at least the four of them were finally on their way home, after being replaced by the next shift. Addison glanced at Alex sideways, hoping they could somehow finish their conversation after getting out of the elevator. She was nervous, but she knew she couldn't manoeuvre around it, anyway. Her thoughts were interrupted, as the elevator came to a jolting stop, the lights going out instantly, the impact knocking the four doctors to the ground. Addison found herself landing rather gently, grabbed in the last moment by Alex. She looked around in the rather dark elevator and saw that Mark had succeeded in pulling Ruthie towards him during the fall so that his body prevented her from hitting the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Ruthie asked, to Addison's surprise she didn't try to wind out of Mark's hold, as they were both sitting up.

"This elevator seems to have a thing for me." Alex muttered, earning a huff from his former best friend.

"Hello? Someone there? The elevator's stuck again and we really would like to get out." Addison hit the speaker button repeatedly but there was no answer and the usual humming that showed the connection was working was also missing.

"Electricity seems to be down. Must be that thunderstorm they talked about in the weather forecast. I guess we can settle for a cosy night in the elevator." Mark sighed and leaned his head against the wall. He was more than aware of the fact that his hand was still lightly holding on to Ruthie's arm and he was surprised that she didn't try to wriggle out of it.

"We have to stay in here?" she asked and he noticed the nervous hint in her voice.

"What's wrong?" Addison also seemed to have noticed it and looked at her now pale colleague. Alex, next to her, casually wrapped his arms around her waist, leaned his head back, closing his eyes and mumbled: "She might be claustrophobic when she's in narrow spaces for too long. That's what you get when you get locked in lockers all the time."

"You might be claustrophobic?" Mark asked in Ruthie's direction but her paleness and the fact that she was trying to control her breathing but failing miserably was answer enough.

"I might be…" she answered quietly. Panic crept into her and she felt like someone was tying a rope around her neck and slowly but constantly pulling it closer and closer. She felt strong

hands on her shoulders, carefully pulling her back and she felt her back lean against a strong chest.

"Ruthie!"

She opened her eyes and found Alex sitting in front of her, his hands on her knees. She realised it was Mark who was holding her.

"Calm down. You don't need to be afraid. Nothing's going to happen. We just have to wait it out, ok?"

She struggled to keep her face, to retort something to Alex, to keep up her façade but she was too busy trying to keep the tears inside that burned in her eyes. She wanted to hit something but she was too afraid to move. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Especially not Alex and more importantly not Mark.

Alex stumbled back as the elevator did another jolt and this time the light went out completely. It was absolutely still in the elevator.

"Everyone ok?" Alex asked and was relieved to feel Addison grab his hand and confirm, although in a small voice.

"We're ok!" Mark answered from the other side of the elevator. He was glad that nobody could see each other, as he had pulled Ruthie onto his lap and held her tightly as she leaned her head against his chest, shivering. He was pretty sure she wouldn't have liked the other two to see her like this.

"Perhaps…we could just try to get some sleep…" Addison murmured and scooted closer to Alex. In the dark she felt for his shoulders and leaned on to them. She couldn't see Alex' smile but she could imagine it as he softly asked:

"So I guess your answer is positive?"

It was Addison's turn to smile in the darkness of the elevator. Instead of answering, she snuggled up against him.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Hating Seattle

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money made

Rating: Er…PG-13? Just to be sure.

Pairing: Mark/Ruthie (OC), Addison/Alex

When Addison woke up, it had begun to get a little lighter in the elevator. She felt Alex's arms draped around her and smiled, feeling the sudden urge to kiss him. Turning around she stopped abruptly when she heard a quiet:

"Could you postpone your PDAs we're out of this…thing?"

Addison could make out Ruthie's form and had to grin. Her new colleague didn't really seem to mind, but was obviously awake for some time, if she had slept at all, and was obviously bored.

"Same to you." Addison whispered and nodded towards Mark, who had somehow managed to manoeuvre himself into Ruthie's lap, sleeping soundly, her hand resting lightly on his arm.

"What was I supposed to do, roll him over? He's like at least two times my weight."

Addison wanted to answer, when a sleepy voice from the other side of the elevator mumbled:

"That's all muscles, darling."

Addison burst out laughing, effectively waking up Alex as well, as Ruthie slapped Mark on the arm, causing him to struggle up, cursing.

"What was that for?" he asked, irritated but, as expected didn't get an answer. He glared at her questioningly but she had already gotten up and pressed the emergency button. To everyone's surprise, the elevator made a short jolt and then resumed its course, humming.

"What? We have spent the whole night in here for nothing? This damn thing is working? And nobody bothered to tell us?"

"Calm down, Ruthie. There's nothing you can do about it now, anyway."

Alex received a cold glare.

"First, it's Dr. Sullivan to you. Second, since when do you get to tell me what to do? Last time I looked it up, you were the intern and I was the attending so I'm telling you now, Karev, spare your damn advice for people who are actually listening."

The others stayed quiet. Alex sighed and signed the speech under "The-Art-of-Sudden-Mood swings, written by Ruthie Sullivan". When the elevator opened, the four doctors were more than eager to get out. Most of the time they had had before the next shift had been spent in the elevator but there were a good five hours left that none of them wanted to spend in or near the hospital. Mark waved goodbye to Addison, hoping to get a quick chat with Ruthie before heading to the hotel.

"Ruthie, wait."

She didn't exactly slow down so Mark picked up a jogging speed to get next to her.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me after the next shift?"

After what had happened previously, he hoped that she would at least consider it. He had woken up earlier to find her absently and gently stroking his arm in the darkness of the elevator and had gone back to sleep with a pretty good feeling. He still didn't know what was so different about her, what made him actually want to be with her – not just to get into her pants. The more taken aback he was when she abruptly stopped and turned to him with a cold glare.

"Is 'No way!' your favourite sentence, Mark? Because frankly, you seem to be begging to hear it again and again and again and again and again – you get my point?"

Without another word, she got into her car and drove off, leaving Mark staring after her.

//Ok:// He thought. //I know when I've lost.//

Ruthie Sullivan walked into the hospital with a plan. A plan she had spent the last five hours making up with resulted in her not having slept for the last 36 hours. It kind of made her courage vanish as she walked through the doors of Seattle grace to see Mark in the lobby, talking to some nurse with his trademark grin. She felt her feet slow down somewhat but forced herself to proceed. She had not spent the last five hours considering and thinking to back down now.

"Dr. Sloan? Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked. Mark didn't even acknowledge that she was there. Ruthie's mind raced. This was not going as planned. She had planned to apologize for her behaviour. She had hoped there was a way that perhaps things could work out between them – although she was not good at anything involving her emotions and he was supposed to be a man-whore. She had been determined to give it – whatever it was – a try because frankly, at some point in time something good had to happen, even to her. She didn't think it was fair that only people who already had everything additionally got more.

"Dr. Sloan!" her voice was a little firmer this time and Mark turned around, an eyebrow raised.

"What?" She began to think that maybe her plan had not been that good as she heard his cold voice.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute." She tried again, but Mark just shrugged.

"Then go on wondering, Dr. Sullivan, I've got other things to do."

With that he turned around and left her standing in the lobby with the confused nurse who tried to make a silent retreat but, not succeeding, got an unamused look from Ruthie Sullivan.

Izzie Stevens was trying to keep her composure.

"Get Doctor Sloan for a consult, Stevens."

Izzie hurriedly nodded, glad to have a chance to get out of the room. Lilly Callahan, seven years old and, in Izzie's opinion, lay in her hospital bed. Izzie had had to hold back a gasp when she had first walked into the room with Dr. Sullivan, seeing the small girl lying in her bed with her face nearly unrecognisable. A fire in the kid's school three days ago had gotten out of control and the girl had been trapped in her classroom after trying to rescue the class's budgie. Now she lay in the bed, one side of her face badly damaged and her lungs in need of surgery and still she was smiling at her doctor.

"I like your hair!" the little girl exclaimed hoarsely and smiled at Ruthie, who was sitting on the side of her bed. Izzie, having just returned with Mark who was in a surprisingly bad mood and not very willing to follow, which surprised her, stopped. Mark nearly bumped into her but stopped as well, seeing Ruthie inside. She was wearing a black wrap around dress and her hair, as usual, was tied back, today in a ponytail. One of the strands had gotten loose and Lilly was carefully tugging at it.

"It's silky."

Ruthie silently scooted the covers back and went to adjust the bandages the girl had wrapped around her stomach. The burns there weren't as bad as the ones on her face but had been bandaged as Lilly had been in a lot of pain.

"Dr. Sullivan?"

Ruthie looked up.

"When you need to operate on my lungs, you have to cut me open, right? And that other doctor is going to do something with my face, right?" Lilly looked at her, her eyes suddenly wide with fear.

"Yes, you are right." Ruthie's voice was calm.

"Do you think I'll die? Because if you do, you can tell me if I should say 'Hello' to someone for you up there."

Ruthie stared at the girl and then smiled. Mark, at the door, held his breath, seeing her smile. He desperately wished to be the reason for her smile, cliché or not, but he guessed with his current techniques of showing him that her behaviour hurt her he wouldn't get very far.

"I don't think you'll die, Lilly. You'll just go to sleep for a pretty long time and when you wake up you'll feel better. Plus, if you die, who is going to take care of the budgie?"

"You are right." Lilly asked, then spotted Mark at the door and beamed at him. "Hi! Are you going to do strange things with my face?"

Ruthie whirled around when she realised Mark must have been there for some time. Her heart started to beat faster and she was glad she was sitting on Lilly's bed, as she was desperately trying to make out a tactic that did not totally go against her feelings, not really succeeding.

"Yeah!"

He walked over to Lilly, trying his hardest not to acknowledge Ruthie.

"You want both surgeries to be done simultaneously? That's putting an unnecessary strain on her." he snapped, failing miserably. Lilly raised an eyebrow.

"What do you suggest, Doctor Sloan? Putting her under anaesthesia now and again in a few days, when she is still trying to recover from the first operation?"

Izzie, still standing by the door, saw the little girl's eyes widen and quickly stepped in.

"Doctors, I think you should continue this conversation elsewhere."

To her own surprise, she didn't get chided but both doctors stormed past her. Mark took hold of Ruthie's arm, angrily pulling her into an empty on-call room. She yanked her arm free and defiantly glared at him.

"What do you think you are doing?" she snapped.

"Trying to knock some sense into you!" he snapped back, eyeing her angrily.

"Knock some sense into me? Excuse me, Mr. I'm-so-great-no-woman-can-ever-say-no-to-me, I'm not the one proposing a more straining procedure just because I'm not mature enough to work with someone else without getting into an argument."

"I would not have to get into an argument with you if you'd be just a little less indecisive, Ruthie." Mark was shouting by now, although he was pretty sure that that wasn't the best way to get through to her.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ruthie was fuming. She stared at him angrily.

"Let me think. Maybe about the fact that one minute you've got nothing else to do than snap at me for no reason at all and the next you let me close, than switch back to don't-get-near-me mode. I'm tired of it, ok? I'm tired of trying to show you that I like you. I'm tired of wanting to be with you and having to hear some stupid excuse every time you seem to feel the same. I'm tired of it. Maybe this is what I deserve for being a man-whore? I don't really care because seriously, I'm just tired of this."

Ruthie stared at him, trying to find something to say.

"You….you want to be with me?"

Mark cast his eyes down.

"I guess so. But it's obvious you don't feel the same. I'll see you at the surgery."

Before Ruthie could react he slammed the door shut behind him. She wanted to go after him but her feet didn't move and she sank down on the bunk next to her. She pulled her knees up, trying to calm her breathing as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She jumped when the door opened again and felt like now was the right moment to panic when Alex cautiously closed the door behind him. get out, ok? I swear I'll make your internship one hell of a ride and not in the good way if you don't leave!" She tried to snap but her icy tone was somehow interrupted by a quiet sob.

"Are you crying?" Alex asked.

"God, no!" Ruthie sobbed. She wanted to flinch away as Alex sat down next to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Addison and I saw Mark coming out of here. He looked pretty angry. Did something happen?"

Alex didn't need an answer as Ruthie completely lost it and she suddenly reminded him of his old friend who would confide to him no matter what. She frantically wiped at the corners of her eyes, trying to brush the tears away.

"You know, you can talk to me, no matter what it's about." Alex offered.

"Oh yeah, we know how well that worked out last time."

"I'm sorry, I really am. Ok, I don't know what this is about but perhaps you guys should just tell each other what you feel, because honestly Ruthie, it's pretty obvious."

She stumbled up and took a deep breath before glancing at him, not daring to trust him and silently closed the door behind her.

"Mark, wait!"

Mark slowed down upon hearing Addison's voice.

"Addie, I'm sorry, but this isn't a good time."

"I can see that. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. Nothing except for the fact that I just declared my feelings to a woman who possibly doesn't give a damn. Ok, you're good with feelings. Can you tell me if once I don't want to just screw a woman – other than yourself – there's no chance for it?"

Addison looked at him while she tried to keep up with him.

"If you don't just want to screw her, what else do you have in mind?"

"I don't know. Everything I guess. I want to do stuff like just hold her hand or watch a movie with her, take her out for dinner. Walk her to the park or watch her sleep."

"Wow…did you tell her?"

"Sort of…well…not that detailed. And I kind of walked out on her afterwards."

Addison sighed as she watched Mark stare at the surgery board with slumped shoulders.

"Hey, just try to work it out with her. If you need any help – I'm good with feelings."

"You're busy building things up with your boy-toy yourself." Mark sighed, smirking as he earned a smack on the arm.

"I've got to go. Surgery's about to start soon."

About to come: An awkward surgery, some angst, and maybe make-up? Or not? Anyways, sorry for the long time it took me to get this up. I've been busy working/studying and stuff so yeah…As always, thanks to missylaur for betaing!!! You're the best!


	8. Chapter 8

Lilly silently waved at Mark through the glass still separating her from her doctor. The little girl looked anxious. Mark shot her an encouraging smile and gave her the thumps up, earning a tired smile from his small patient as well. He put his scrub cap on and watched as Lilly was put to sleep when he felt a movement next to him. He glanced at Ruthie, who was starting to wash her hands next to him while doing virtually everything in order to not have to look at him.

"Let's just do this surgery, ok? It's not Lilly's fault that we are not able to put our differences aside."

"Ok."

Her answer was so quiet that Mark turned and looked at her. She was pale and the lack of sleep was becoming obvious in the form of dark circles under her eyes. More strays from her ponytail had become loose and she was still staring at the faucet. Mark sighed and headed into the OR, leaving Ruthie in the preparation room. She took a shuddering breath and redid her ponytail. She tried not to think about what Mark had told her in the on-call room. She desperately tried not to think about what she felt for him, especially after he had made his point clear: He did not want to pursue anything anymore and Ruthie knew that she was the responsible for that herself. She took another deep breath and followed Mark into the OR.

Mark briefly looked up when she entered the room, and once again had to remind himself that it was no use to think about her or about what could have been. She still looked tired and exhausted but he still thought that she was beautiful. He quickly began to order Izzie Stevens around. He soon began to feel sorry for the intern as he wasn't the only one letting their bad mood out on Izzie. His part of the surgery was progressing well, he had already started the finishing of the reconstruction of Lilly's face when Ruthie's voice startled everyone in the OR.

"Stevens!"

Mark saw from the expression on Izzie's face that something must have gone wrong where Ruthie and Izzie were working on Lilly's lung.

"I'm really sorry, Dr. Sullivan. I didn't mean to…."

"To do what? Kill the patient? If you cannot keep your hands still, then get the hell out of this OR."

Mark gazed at Ruthie, but she either didn't see it or chose to ignore it.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm really tired. I've been on call for two nights and….."

She didn't get to finish as Mark took her by the arm and led her towards the door.

"Ok, Stevens, that was probably the worst argument you could have chosen because nobody knows for sure when that woman has slept the last time. So be of use and save your own life and get her a coffee." He ushered Izzie out of the OR and then stood close to Ruthie.

"Take a break." He mumbled.

"Leave me alone, I believe you've got some work to do."

He wanted to turn around and snap but he caught the slight quivering in her voice and decided not to do so.

"Ruthie, take a break. You are tired and you need to eat something."

She didn't answer but continued to work, precisely and seemingly concentrated. Mark sighed and returned to his own work.

_Two hours later_

"Good work everyone, thank you." Mark said while leaving the OR after his colleague. Ruthie was already scrubbing out and putting on her watch, wearily glancing at it. He watched as she leaned against the sink and struggled to keep her eyes open.

"I know you don't like me right now and honestly, I can't say I'm too fond of you either at the moment, but let me drive you home, Ruthie. You are tired, you can't drive."

Without looking at him the young doctor turned around muttered: "I'm taking a taxi."

_Later_

Ruthie eyed her bed wearily. She couldn't recall the last time she had slept for more than an hour at a time and she slipped her short pajamas on, crawling under the sheets of her new, barely used bed. Although it normally took her a lot of time to fall asleep, she drifted off immediately, the strains from the last few days finally taking their toll on her.

"_Are you sure you know what you are doing?"_

_Mike laughed as Charlie took a last glance in the mirror, straightening his suit and grinning._

"_I'm marrying the most amazing woman on this world. And nothing's going to stop me."_

"_If Ruthie isn't…" Jack mumbled, trying to keep his voice low but both his older brother and his youngest sister had heard him._

"_Yeah…I'm not stopping you. I'd do everything to knock some sense into you." Ruthie muttered from her place on the armchair. Charlie turned around, his face showing his anger at her statement._

"_What the hell is it that you can't just let me be happy with Sarah?"_

"_You want the whole list or just an extract?"_

_Ruthie had risen by now, starting to exit the room._

"_You know what, just go. It would probably be better if you didn't come to the wedding, anyway. You are a sour and angry person and no matter if someone did something to you or is just standing in your way all you can do is make their life a living hell."_

"_Oh, please."_

_Ruthie's expression was still indifferent but that changed when Charlie slammed his hand on the table angrily._

"_You are not going to ruin this, Ruthie. This is supposed to be the best day of my life and if that's only going to happen without you being there, this is what it will be like."_

"_You are seriously not inviting me to your wedding? I'm your sister."_

_Her expression was shocked now._

"_You are my sister? Then act like it. You know what? You are never going to change. And you are going to end up alone because that probably is what you want anyway. Who would want to put up with you for longer than necessary?"_

Ruthie woke up with a start. A quick glance at her alarm clock showed that she hadn't slept for more than 30 minutes but that had already been enough. Ruthie felt tears welling up in her eyes when she thought about the dream she just had. Her brother's wedding had been eight years ago but she recalled those events as if it had been yesterday. She felt her breath hitch in her throat when she thought about the fact that her parents had supported her brother's decision. She had left her hometown the day her brother married, packing her things while everyone else was at the church, celebrating.

She stumbled out of her bed and out of the door of her apartment, by now sobbing, unable to control her sudden outburst.

Who would want to put up with her? Her work was able to keep her mind off that question most of the time but today's events were too much for her to grasp. She didn't even know where she was going as she stumbled through the streets barefoot although it was raining heavily.

Mark cursed as he heard his doorbell ring. A look at his watch told him that it hadn't even been three hours since he had left the hospital. All he wanted was to get some sleep. He hoped that in his sleep, he could get his mind off Ruthie for at least a second. Seeing her smiling at Lilly's side this morning hadn't exactly made his task of forgetting her and finding some nurse to boost his ego again easier. He had decided against the ego boost and just went home after the operation at last and was now stumbling to the door in his boxer shorts in the middle of the night.

When Mark opened the door he was more than surprised to see a soaking wet Ruthie in her pajamas, sobbing and shivering.

"What…ok, what is going on here?"

He considered waiting for an answer but seeing that his question only seemed to make her sob harder, he took one of her hands and gently pulled her inside and out of the rain. Ruthie's heart jumped when she felt his warm hand taking hers and instinctively she pushed herself against him, snaking her arm around his neck and burying her face against his chest. Mark sighed and gently pushed her away a step, gripping her shoulders to be able to take a good look at her.

"Ruthie! Look at me!"

She briefly glanced up at him but directed her gaze to the floor again. When she shyly reached out for him again, not daring to look at him, Mark relented and gently pulled her towards him again, one hand gently rubbing up and down her back, the other one placing her head on his chest again, carefully brushing the strays of wet hair that were glued to her face behind her ear. Slowly he managed to direct them to his living room, while wondering how she had managed to just get past the hotelier like this. But then again, this was Ruthie and he couldn't remember her not getting what she wanted, no matter the condition she was in.

He sat down on the couch and pulled her into his lap, waiting for her to calm down while he continued to stroke her hair. With one hand he grabbed the blanket lying next to him and covered the shaking woman with it. She seemed so fragile right now and he wondered how he had ever managed to yell at her.

"I'm sorry."

Her voice was quiet but Mark was endlessly relieved to hear her speak at all.

"It's ok." He murmured, although he wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about. He felt her shake her head against his chest and reach her hand up to lightly trace his arm with her fingertips. Mark felt a shiver run up his spine.

"You said you wanted to be with me. And I just… I don't know how to…. I've never been….."

Frustrated, she burrowed her face deeper into his chest, not knowing what to say. Mark felt like his heart was going to explode as he waited for her to go on. She finally began to wriggle out of his embrace, still sitting in his lap but now looking at him for the first time this night.

"I don't want to fight with you anymore. And I think I want to be with you, too. It's just that I don't know how to do this. I've never….been with someone before and I understand that you changed your mind and…."

He saw her eyes tear up again and decided to take action. Gently pulling her towards him, he pressed his lips against hers and smiled into the kiss at her surprised gasp. He gently pressed his forehead against hers and traced the outline of her face with his thumb.

"Here's what we do: first you take a hot shower because I sure as hell don't want you to get sick after all of this. Then, I'm going to get us something to eat and we'll have a well earned sleep. How does that sound?"

Ruthie nodded and closed her eyes as his thumb reached her jaw line.

"Good." Mark smiled. "Because I'm not very experienced at this as well, manwhore – remember? We could just take it slow, you know? Although THAT is something I've definitely never done before."

He felt her chuckle against his body and then gently pushed her away from him.

"Shower! Now! You got me all wet!"


End file.
